Vor Arneths Grab, WAB 53

History#

Bruckner composed the elegy Vor Arneths Grab, WAB 53, for the funeral of Michael Arneth, the prior of the St. Florian Abbey. The work, which was written together with the Libera me, WAB 22, was performed on 28 March 1854 at the cemetery of the abbey. The elegy was performed a second time for the funeral of Magistrate Wilhelm Schiedermayr on 23 September 1855. Am Grabe is a revised a cappella setting of the elegy, was performed on the funeral of Josephine Hafferl.

Text#

The elegy uses a text by Ernst von Marinelli. :

Music#

The 28-bar-long work in F minor is scored for TTBB choir and 3 trombones. The setting of the first two strophes (bars 1 to 8) is identical. It is followed (bars 9 to 16) by the setting of the third strophe, and, after two instrumental bars, ends (bars 19 to 28) with the setting of the last strophe.

Discography#

There are three recordings of Vor Arneths Grab: * Jürgen Jürgens, Monteverdi-Chor, Bruckner - Music of St Florian Period (II) – CD: BSVD-0111 (Bruckner Archive), 1985 * Thomas Kerbl, Chorvereinigung Bruckner 08, Anton Bruckner Männerchöre – CD: LIVA 027, 2008 * Łukasz Borowicz, Anton Bruckner: Requiem, RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin – CD: Accentus ACC30474, 2019

Sources#

• August Göllerich, Anton Bruckner. Ein Lebens- und Schaffens-Bild, – posthumous edited by Max Auer by G. Bosse, Regensburg, 1932
• Keith William Kinder, The Wind and Wind-Chorus Music of Anton Bruckner, Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, 2000
• Anton Bruckner – Sämtliche Werke, Band XXIII/2: Weltliche Chorwerke (1843–1893), Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Angela Pachovsky and Anton Reinthaler (Editor), Vienna, 1989
• Cornelis van Zwol, Anton Bruckner 1824–1896 – Leven en werken, uitg. Thoth, Bussum, Netherlands, 2012.
• Crawford Howie, Anton Bruckner - A documentary biography, online revised edition

External links#

• Vor Arneths Grab f-Moll, WAB 53 Critical discography by Hans Roelofs
• Jonas Rannila with the Manifestum Men’s Choir: Vor Arneths Grab (WAB 53)